Chocolate
by Moonprincess92
Summary: Truth be told, Rose Weasley was not a crier. :Oneshot R/S:


**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Rose, Scorpius, or chocolate.

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Chocolate.

Summary: Truth be told, Rose Weasley was not a crier. :Oneshot R/S:

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Truth be told, Rose Weasley was not a crier.

Once, when she was eight, she broke her arm badly in two different places, falling out of a tree; what with Al screaming for her mother, her mother shrieking that her baby was hurt and little Lily crying because everyone else was upset, it had been a wonder that Rose didn't just break down right then and there on the spot.

And sure, it had hurt like a bitch, but Rose had considered herself a 'big girl' at that point, and big eight-year-olds didn't cry like babies. So she hadn't shed one tear.

She didn't think big seventeen-year-olds cried like babies either, but apparently, today had just proven her all sorts of wrong!

"… Rose Weasley?"

Oh, hell. Even better.

Glancing up from where she was curled in around herself, Rose saw that it was indeed Scorpius Malfoy staring down at her; there was a mixture of concern and utter terror on his face. James had once told her that that look was universal for every bloke who was ever encountered with an emotional girl. There would apparently be only one thought currently running through Malfoy's head:

Shit, shit, crying girl, what do I do?!

"I …" Rose gasped out, trying not to make her face too visible behind her red curls. "I … I'm f-fine … seriously … I'm fine …"

"Uh …" Malfoy looked uneasy, hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "You … I mean to say, you're, um, crying. In the middle of an empty corridor. You don't look fine, to me that is."

"Malfoy, I really can't handle this at the moment," Rose choked out. Since it was established that Rose was not a crier, she had never really understood why people couldn't talk and cry at the same time. She read it in books all the time; they stammered, they gasped, they choked, they simply couldn't get the words out, boo hoo to them, it was the end of the flipping world!

But it was true. The sobs forced their way out of her throat and she found herself almost unable to breathe as she tried to gain some shred of control in front of Malfoy.

It wasn't working. God, she hated that.

Malfoy dithered on the spot for a moment, during which Rose drew her knees closer and tried to hide her face. Then, to her utter surprise, Malfoy awkwardly dropped to the floor and sat beside her.

She couldn't help but stare through her tears. Rose'd never exactly had much to do with Scorpius Malfoy; Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't socialise by tradition, so apart from the occasional boast at beating him in a test to please her dad, she had simply stayed away from him. Turns out, it hadn't been that hard, since it had become clear on day one that Malfoy was not good at talking to people, let alone girls with lots of hair and an attitude to match. The bloke simply failed to see that with his height, gorgeous blond hair and the smile he would crack sometimes when talking to his only friend, a bloke in his class, there would be a pile of several girls swooning next to him.

Um, not that she thought he was hot or anything.

"… what d'you want?" Rose said, thickly.

Malfoy was sitting cross-legged next to her in the corridor, leaning back against the brick wall. He shrugged. "Mum always taught me to be courteous. A girl is crying, therefore, I can't just leave her."

"Does your mum come from the 1880s?"

"Sometimes, I suspect so."

That actually made her snort, so to humour him, she looked up. The second she did, she wished she hadn't; the look on his face was all she needed to know that she must look absolutely horrible.

How could she have done this to her?

"So … um," Malfoy started, breaking their look. "Why are you crying in the middle of the corridor?"

"I didn't choose here, Malfoy," Rose snapped, staring at her knees once more, the tears thankfully becoming more under control. "I didn't just think, 'Ooh, this patch of brick seems like the perfect place to have an emotional breakdown!',"

"So what happened in the corridor?"

"Sorry, what?" Rose asked, confused now.

"Well, you said that you didn't choose this place," Malfoy shrugged. "Logic dictates that you ended up crying here because something happened here, or at least within a close vicinity. Curtsey also tells me that I should ask you why you are crying, so I could potentially help you feel better."

Rose simply stared. "… do you actually talk like that in real life?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're an effing robot?"

Malfoy looked puzzled. "… what's a robot?"

"I cannot believe this is happening," Rose almost laughed at the bizarreness of the situation. She supposed she ought to be grateful; the only reason she hadn't been found yet was because it was the middle of dinner and anyone with a stomach was currently down in the Great Hall, stuffing her faces.

She was.

And Rose was up here. Crying her effing eyes out.

Malfoy took a deep breath, which made Rose look up. Malfoy seemed to be gearing himself up before saying, "Weasley, I don't know you."

"… not surprising, seeing as we've hardly spoken in six and a half years."

"But you're upset," he continued. "and … I don't like it. So I … want to help you, I think. If you tell me what is wrong, then I could perhaps help … or something," he muttered the last statement as an afterthought, clearly in reference to her reaction.

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting next to her, offering to comfort her. She had totally bypassed Crazy Town; now, she was in bloody Whack-Job Central!

"Malfoy, if I try to tell you what is wrong, we will be here for hours," Rose warned. "That's not an exaggeration."

Malfoy was silent for a few moments. Then, when Rose figured he would leave, he turned to her and said, "I would advise that you begin soon, then."

What was–?

Screw it. Trying to make sense of this was a waste of time.

"… do you have a friend who makes your life hell?" Rose began.

"I only have one person in my life who I call a friend, and he is very kind to me. That is why we are friends."

"Right. Should've seen that one coming," Rose muttered, talking to her knees once again. She was very aware of Malfoy watching her with an intense expression on his face, like he was planning on taking in every word she said. "Well, I do. My best friend. Jane. I met her in first-year, first night in our dormitory. She was wearing this necklace that I loved and we bonded instantly. We got along so well. I thought we did," Rose added.

"I am starting to think, from your comments and overall mood, that this friend hasn't been very kind to you?"

"You could say that," Rose gave a bitter laugh, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill over once more. "Look, I don't even know where to begin with this story, Malfoy. For a while, things were fine. We were a group of three; me, Jane, and our other best friend, Carla. Carla …" Rose smile as she remembered Carla's last letter to her; she had spent three pages absolutely raving about the Louvre. "… Carla moved to France about a month ago. Her dad got a new job and the entire family moved. So since March, it's just been me and Jane. And she's …"

"Not been kind?"

"Driving me round the bloody bend!" Rose almost yelled. Yes, be angry. Being angry was a hell of a lot better than being sad. "Jane is one of those people who thinks the worst," she explained. "She will never hope about anything or look on the bright side; she worries, and she thinks that anyone else who doesn't worry is an idiot for getting their hopes up. The thing is, that's who I am. And because of this way that she thinks, she finds herself getting into a lot of dramas that could have probably been avoided. First, there was her failing an assignment and almost having to repeat a year. Then, this whole family drama which I won't get into. A whole load of little things that she has thrown way out of proportion and now, there's a boy trouble, which has gotten utter effing ridiculous."

Malfoy didn't say anything for a moment, and Rose sighed. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "This must seem really stupid and petty to you."

"You were crying quite alarmingly, Rose Weasley," Malfoy said, quietly. He was looking straight ahead, thankfully, though the expression on his face hadn't lost that intense look. "I don't believe anything that can make you that upset is petty."

"It gets even pettier," Rose admitted, letting her legs outstretch for something to distract her. "The thing is, I wouldn't mind dealing with Jane's shit, because that's what friends do. They help each other! But the thing with Jane is that you give and give and give, and she doesn't effing give back! She expects you to be around to help her at every beck and call, but the second you need her help, she tells you to take your problems somewhere else, because she won't deal with it! She doesn't … she doesn't share," Rose added, head hanging so low, her hair covered her entire face.

"What do you mean?" Malfoy asked, slowly.

"I mean, not only does she not handle your problems, she'll only tell you things about herself that she wants you to know," Rose answered. "She doesn't tell you anything about her life. There's some things I only know because I've found out through her family, or she's been forced to tell me. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but she lies straight to your face so you won't find these things out. Just the other day, I was reading a letter from Carla and I realised that while I could write a bloody biography about her, Jane … I know, at the most, two sentences about her life before she came to Hogwarts. I tell her everything, and she just lies back!"

She was starting to get upset again, she knew it; drawing her knees up once more, she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes as if she could force the tears back in. Swallowing a sob, she said, "I don't trust her, Malfoy … I just don't trust her at all …"

Malfoy let her cry for a moment. She couldn't look up and see his face, but she had to imagine that he was wishing that his bloody family etiquette didn't exist so he could simply scarper. But after a moment, he said,

"It seems to me that you and Jane have different expectations for your friendship."

"You got that bloody right."

"Listen to me," Malfoy said, sounding slightly more confident now. She ended up looking at him. "You and Jane, it sounds to me that you are very different people and look at the world in different ways. To you, a big part of friendship means to share, and Jane hasn't met those expectations and you are hurt. She leans on you for emotional support, but won't let you lean on her in return. What's more, you are going through the loss of a close friend, who probably helped you handle Jane when she was here. Now that she's not, your friendship has deteriorated."

"What are you, an effing counsellor?" Rose asked in bewilderment, rubbing at her eyes.

"I listen," Malfoy said, simply. "So … what happened today, Rose? What led you to crying in an empty corridor?"

Rose stared; Scorpius Malfoy was calling her by her first name and actually sounding like he gave a damn about her insane and stupid life problems! She couldn't even express her bewilderment at this scenario anymore.

"I … I think she's caught on that I've started pulling away," Rose said, mostly out of confusion, if anything. "Because she's started latching onto another dormitory mate of ours, Kim. And I might have been a bit jealous at first, because it looked like she was opening up to her, rather than me, but I know now that she would just be doing the same thing that she's done to me. Unleashing her problems and not giving anything in return. And today, just now, I tried to talk to Jane. I just … wanted her to know what she was doing to me …"

Brilliant. More tears. She hated this, but she needed to keep going. Malfoy was being surprisingly considerate and deserved to hear the end. It made her choke down a sob when she realised that Malfoy had listened to her more in the past fifteen minutes than Jane had all year. "She pulled her usual, 'This is who I am, I don't live to please you, you can't change me' speech that she always does," Rose cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. In between sniffs, she continued, "I wouldn't – I don't expect her to change! I know who she is … but when I told her that I had to step back, not be so involved in her life anymore, she tried guilt-tripping me. Said that all her best friends had left her in the past – big surprise – and how could I do that to her. To her?!"

Rose had been so angry at that comment. Jane had made her cry before, but she had never made her feel so guilty that she felt like she couldn't tell her no. She hadn't thought her friend capable of such a thing.

"I tried to explain, but she wouldn't let me. Then she – she –"

She was sobbing now and she couldn't even spare a thought for Malfoy sitting next to her. Tears staining her sleeves, she said, "Kim … Kim j-joined us then … and Jane told me that she didn't deserve to have me treat her that way and that she had Kim now and … and … when they walked away, Kim looked back at me … and I could see in her face, Malfoy – I could see me in her face. I could see Kim turning out like I am now. And I don't want that to happen to her, Malfoy! I don't … I can't … she's hurt me and I can't … I'm sorry, I'm so sorry–"

"Rose, it's ok," Malfoy said, softly.

Then, she felt a comfortable weight hesitantly rest across her shoulders.

Malfoy had put an arm around her.

She turned to stare up at him, legs curling underneath her. Moving her hands from her tear-stained face, she saw that Malfoy was looking rather pale and strained, but also quietly determined; as she stared, he squeezed her shoulder and a wild flash of emotions hit her in one go. She only had one thought: holy mother of god. So she did the only one thing that could possibly make this day any worse:

She kissed him.

She didn't know what she was thinking; this was Scorpius Effing Malfoy! But he was there, his arm was around her and he was listening and she just needed confirmation that she didn't deserve to be treated the way she had by the girl who was supposed to be her friend. She thread her fingers in his hair and crashed her lips to his. He gave a small noise of shock and for several moments, neither of them moved. Then, his arm slid from her shoulders to wrap around her waist and she was hauled closer.

She ignored all common sense and kissed him with wild abandon; she could taste the salt from her tears as they transferred to his face and to bring herself closer, she let one of her bent legs swing casually over his lap. The arm that wasn't wrapped around her held onto that leg tightly, almost as if he didn't know what to do with himself. She admitted that this was one, crazy, frantic mess, a clashing of teeth and hot tongues, needy and desperate, yet she didn't care. She didn't care at all. In fact, it thrilled her; moving a hand from his hair, she gripped his hand on her leg, almost willing him to move it, just a little higher – go on, make me forget …

Oh, god.

She yanked back almost as quickly as she'd kissed him. Malfoy was looking shell-shocked and rather stunned as she almost fell on her bum, trying to back away on the floor.

"R-Rose …" he said, his voice strangled.

"Holy shit," Rose said in horror. "I can't believe – I'm so – you –"

There was nothing she could say. She scrambled to her feet and before she could cry any more in front of Scorpius Malfoy, she turned and ran.

* * *

There was officially nowhere for her to go.

There was only so long she could hide in the library, and it was nearing closer and closer to nine o'clock. It had gotten to the point now where she was almost afraid to go to bed, for fear of Jane being there in their shared dormitory. Rose had so far refused to be kicked out of her own room, but she wouldn't lie and say she hadn't thought about sleeping in the common room a few times.

Had her life really gone this downhill?

"Common room it is," Rose said to herself through gritted teeth. "C'mon, Rose, pull it together–"

She stormed for the stairs, rounding a corner … and, of course, she walked straight into Malfoy.

"Rose!" he said, catching her by the shoulders and straightening her.

"Oh, lord," Rose muttered. She had done enough crying today and handling Jane's bloody relationship dramas; she didn't need to add any more of her own. "Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry for this afternoon, ok? But I just can't – I can't deal with this at the–" Rose stared at what Malfoy was suddenly holding out for her. "–m-moment …" she muttered.

Scorpius Malfoy was standing before her, holding out a large block of chocolate.

Oh, she could cry.

He cracked her a strained grin. "I hear that chocolate makes a lot of things better," he said, weakly. "I thought … maybe …"

"Malfoy," Rose said, accepting the chocolate with a slightly shaking hand. "You are god's gift to women, I swear."

"Is that why you kissed me?"

Heart leaping into her throat, Rose rubbed her closed eyes, warily. "Malfoy, look, I just can't–"

"Because I don't want you to regret it," Malfoy blurted out, and she stared. He looked absolutely terrified. "I know that you were hurt. I know that you were emotionally vulnerable and you probably kissed me because I was there and being kind. But, please … I don't normally … I mean to say, this doesn't … happen to me," he eventually finished, not meeting her gaze. "But I thought it was amazing, regardless, and I am hoping that you will not regret it."

"Malfoy …" Rose whispered, clutching the chocolate. Who was this man, who comforted a weeping girl in the middle of a breakdown, gave her a block of edible heaven, and admitted that he thought her kissing him was amazing?

Surely it wasn't Scorpius Malfoy?

"… I am sorry," Rose said, eventually. There was no getting around that they were talking about this tonight. "I didn't mean to … you know, do what I did. And I'm sorry. But no, I don't regret it. I … I liked it as well."

The two of them were silent for a moment, still standing feet away from each other in the rapidly darkening and silent corridor. Students were all in their common rooms by now and soon, she and Malfoy would be thrown head-first into detention if they were caught. But she still couldn't bring herself to move.

"Um, forgive me," Malfoy eventually said, and she stayed staring at his shoes; much safer. "but what happens now?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Well …" Malfoy looked uncomfortable. "I've never kissed a girl without it meaning something before. Do we simply forget this ever happened, or …?"

"I …" Rose couldn't believe she was hesitating. "I don't know. Believe it or not, Malfoy, I've never done this before, either."

"I don't want you to be unhappy," Malfoy said at once.

Rose felt a smile come onto her face; her first genuine smile probably since Carla left. "I'm not," she answered.

Malfoy's returning smile was just as awkward as the rest of him; aimed at the apparently very interesting floor and his hands were in his pockets again. However, every inch of him screamed, I'm so glad I could make you feel better. "You know what would make me even happier, Malfoy?" Rose asked.

"What?"

"Sharing this block of chocolate with someone I know who cares about me," she said, holding out a hand without even thinking. "I know a hidden staircase on the seventh floor where the teachers never look."

"Rose …" Malfoy looked hesitant. "I don't want you to get into trouble–"

"We won't," Rose smirked now, not waiting for him and simply taking his hand with a roll of her eyes. She couldn't believe the tingle that shot up her spine. "Now, come on!"

It seemed that Malfoy had resigned himself to being dragged away from the world by Rose Weasley, and let himself be tugged after her. However, they had only made it halfway down the corridor, when a familiar voice called out, "Rose! Rosie!" and Rose's heart filled with dread.

Jane.

"Rose!" she called once more and Malfoy slammed into Rose's back as she stopped abruptly. Turning to face her, Rose saw Jane hurrying down the corridor, her long, brown hair swinging over her shoulders and with those bright blue eyes that Rose used to be so jealous of. "Thought I would find you near the library – I need to talk to you–"

"Jane, I can't," Rose said at once, blinking hard. She had spent the entire evening crying; she was not going to break down here! "I'm serious, I can't–"

"Rosie, come on, Kim's gone out with her boyfriend for the night, sneaking off god knows where," She gave that smile that had once meant mischievous teasing. Now, it was a blatant disregard for how she felt. "I need you–"

"Jane, I have already told you, I won't handle your problems anymore," Rose said firmly, fighting to keep herself together; she found herself holding onto Malfoy's hand almost painfully.

"Look, you didn't mean that – wait, Scorpius Malfoy?" she said, finally noticing who Rose was with.

"I understand that you are Jane," Malfoy said, nodding.

"Wow … Rose, I know that your taste in blokes is a bit more diverse than mine, but really? Malfoy?" Jane said, clearly in disbelief.

"We're … we're not together," she mumbled, embarrassed now.

"Indeed, we only talked properly for the first time this afternoon," Malfoy agreed.

Jane didn't seem to think this was as pressing as whatever else was bothering her, as she quickly disregarded it. There had been a point in their friendship where all they'd do was sit and gossip about boys. "Look, Rosie, I get that you said some hurtful things today – but I am willing to forget that–"

"I said–?" Rose stammered. "You're unbelievable!"

"Rose, I need your help, and you just abandoned me!" Jane told her, a hint of dramatic-ness in her voice. "But I am your friend, so I am willing to forgive you and every other selfish thing you've done–"

Rose couldn't help it. It was too much, on top of everything else that had happened that day. She simply burst into tears. Holding onto Malfoy's hand still, she just turned her face and cried into his shoulder, not wanting Jane to see her like this. A vindictive part of her kind of did, but Rose hated bloody crying. She hated being seen as weak. She hated that Jane had done this to her.

Malfoy was there for her.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake …" she heard Jane mutter. She couldn't even choke down her sobs to yell back, however much she wanted to.

Turns out, she had someone who did it for her.

"I would appreciate it, Jane, if you would leave now," Malfoy's voice said, suddenly icy.

"Oh, come on! Look, Rose, I'm sorry, ok–?"

"You do not deserve to apologise to her," Malfoy suddenly thundered. It was as though that intense look he'd had earlier had suddenly transferred to his voice and she felt his other hand rest on her waist. "You do not deserve to even look at her. Rose has been nothing but a friend to you and today, I had to sit with her while she cried over what you have done to her. Rose is a good person, and if she will allow me, I swear I will spend every waking hour making sure that you will not hurt her ever again."

Rose glanced up from his shoulder, completely ignoring Jane. She met Malfoy's eyes and said, "I – I allow you."

Malfoy grinned. "Jane," he said to the girl standing with her mouth open in front of them. "Please leave Rose alone. Now, if you will excuse us, I believe we have some chocolate to eat."

* * *

"… what do you believe will happen between you and Jane?" Scorpius asked. He really had become 'Scorpius', rather than Malfoy, over the past few hours. As they sat on the hidden stairs, it suddenly hit Rose that only those few hours ago, she had barely known him. Now … she felt like she owed him a lifetime's supply of sweets of his choosing.

"I don't know," Rose answered, accepting the chocolate back from him. They sat side by side, arms and legs touching as they passed their chocolate back and forth. They had turned and simply left Jane in the corridor behind them; Rose hadn't looked back. "We've been friends for so long … I just don't know what will happen. I don't even know what I want to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'll admit, the thought of never speaking to her again has its appeal right now," Rose admitted, chewing slowly. "But we've been through a lot and we honestly have had wonderful times together. I did say that I wouldn't stop being her friend; I'd only step back from the emotional side of it. I guess it's up to Jane now."

"Would you be ok if she decided to never speak to you again?"

Rose glanced at him. "Maybe not at first. But I would be, eventually. Do you think that's right?"

"I do not care, Rose," Scorpius told her. "It is your choice about what to do to about Jane. The only thing I care about is that you are happy."

"Hey," Rose said softly, since Scorpius was staring at their chocolate, refusing to look up. Suddenly, the impulse struck her and she reached out, taking hold of his face to kiss him firmly on the mouth. He wasn't quite as shocked at the first time – he kissed her back at least – but Rose drew away before she could seriously get carried away, pressing their foreheads together. "Scorpius …" she whispered, nudging him with her nose. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me."

"I … you are welcome, Rose."

She smiled, trailing her fingers down Scorpius's cheek. "You have been so amazing today. And I can tell you … there's simply one thing I must do …"

"I – uh – what is that?" Scorpius stammered as she ghosted her mouth across his.

Smirking into his lips, she suddenly pulled away to grab the chocolate out of his limp hands. "To eat this entire thing!" she said, smiling and holding it up high above her head.

"Rose … that is evil," Scorpius said, still slightly winded from her tease.

"That, Scorpius, is tactics."

"I believe the saying here is 'best two out of three'?"

Rose laughed, throwing her head back; she loved the way he made her do that. "Try and take it from me. I dare you."

He did.

-Fin.

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A/N: **UPDATE:** Looking back on this story, I don't expect anyone to find this particularly coherent, or to even make much sense. This story was written because there was a Jane in my life at the time and I wanted to let my own stress out through my writing. As a result, I don't think this story is perhaps as wonderful as it could be and (in my own personal opinion) seems overly dramatic.

Nevertheless, it's a part of my writing journey, and some people seemed to like it, so I won't delete it at this point. :)

Until next time -

- Moon. :D


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